Josh Allen and Bryce Young each made headlines with record-setting performances this week as the Buffalo Bills and Carolina Panthers secured victories, while the Pittsburgh Steelers fell short against the Seattle Seahawks.
In a decisive 26-7 win over the Steelers, Allen added another milestone to his impressive career. The Bills (8-4) rebounded from a recent defeat against Houston by dominating Pittsburgh (6-6) on both sides of the ball. James Cook led the rushing attack, gaining 144 yards as Buffalo amassed a total of 249 rushing yards, controlling the game for nearly 42 minutes in challenging conditions at Acrisure Stadium. “Found a way to win, that”s all that matters,” Allen remarked after the game. He completed 15 of 23 passes for 123 yards, including one interception and a three-yard touchdown pass to Keon Coleman. Allen solidified the win by powering through for an eight-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, marking the 76th rushing touchdown of his career. This achievement broke the previous record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, which he had briefly shared with Cam Newton.
The Steelers have now lost five of their last seven games, drawing significant frustration from their home crowd. Linebacker T.J. Watt expressed disbelief at the Steelers” defensive struggles, stating, “I”ve never seen a team run the same play as much as they ran it tonight and have as much success as they have. I”m out of words for it.”
Meanwhile, the Bills remain in contention for the AFC East title, trailing the leading New England Patriots (10-2). The style of football exhibited by Buffalo during this cold November matchup suggests they could be a force as the season progresses.
In Charlotte, Bryce Young also made history as he led the Panthers to a thrilling 31-28 victory over the Los Angeles Rams, snapping their six-game winning streak. Young completed 15 of 20 passes for 206 yards and threw three touchdown passes, two of which came on fourth down. At just 24 years and 128 days old, he became the youngest player in NFL history to achieve 11 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime, surpassing Allen”s previous record of 24 years and 164 days. “The proof is in the pudding,” said Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. “The fact that your leader on offense can do that, you know, it speaks volumes for sure.” This victory improved Carolina”s record to 7-6, marking their best start since the 2017 season, when they last reached the playoffs.
In contrast, the Seahawks joined the Rams at the top of the NFC standings with a commanding 26-0 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. This shutout was Seattle”s first against Minnesota in over a decade. The Vikings (4-8) have now lost four consecutive games and were unable to score for the first time since 2007.
